Newborn baby died after being baptized by a priest of the Orthodox Church | the Chronicle

A newborn baby died on Monday after being baptized at an Orthodox church in Bucharest, Romania, and now several users on social media have called for the religion to change the ritual they deemed risky.

The minor died in hospital after being baptized at a church in Suceava, in the northeast of that country, according to the AFP agency.

Baptism in the Orthodox Church involves immersing the baby three times in holy water, no matter how much he cries.

“The death of a newborn baby as a result of this practice is a great tragedy. This risk must be removed so that the joy of baptism triumphs “activists who oppose this religious practice said on social media.

Following the campaign against the methods used by Orthodox baptism, protesters have already obtained more than 56,000 signatures to date.

Authorities say the baby suffered cardiac arrest and, although he was rushed to hospital, died a few hours later. Meanwhile, the autopsy revealed that the six-week-old child had “fluid” in his lungs, for which the prosecution decided to open an investigation for “homicide” against the priest.

Asismimo, Vasile Banescu, a spokesperson for the Orthodox Church, admitted that priests could simply pour water on the baby’s forehead to prevent such tragedies.

Contrary to what has been said by Banescu, the archbishop stood up Theodosia, leader of this Church, who asserted that this “ritual will not change” and attacked that they should not be “intimidated”.